Below are posts associated with the “theverge.com” source.
🔗 linkblog: Reddit will no longer allow users to opt out of ad personalization - The Verge'
It baffles me when platforms think “oh, but we can help you see more relevant ads” is a selling point. Also, “not sharing data outside Reddit” doesn’t help either—it’s still an invasion of privacy.
🔗 linkblog: FTC files a massive antitrust lawsuit against Amazon - The Verge'
Amazon is too big, and while I’m not a policy expert, I welcome government efforts to keep it in check.
🔗 linkblog: Gizmodo’s owner shuts down Spanish language site in favor of AI translations - The Verge'
Gizmodo’s owner seems way too optimistic about AI.
🔗 linkblog: An Iowa school district is using ChatGPT to decide which books to ban - The Verge'
Even if ChatGPT could be trusted to do this task, “let’s remove books from libraries with less work” is a good example of how efficiency isn’t always a good thing.
🔗 linkblog: OpenAI wants GPT-4 to solve the content moderation dilemma - The Verge'
Look, if an automated process could save human moderators from the awful work they have to do, I’d be all for it. I’m unconvinced that GPT-4 could do it, though.
🔗 linkblog: Elon Musk keeps getting creepier - The Verge'
I think this is two weeks in a row that I’ve shared Casey Newton’s Platformer column, but that’s because it’s two weeks in a row he’s written something important.
🔗 linkblog: It’s time to change how we cover Elon Musk - The Verge'
Casey Newton has some good insight here.
🔗 linkblog: Now you can block OpenAI’s web crawler - The Verge'
This is a welcome step, but I’m concerned it’s an empty, distracting gesture—it certainly doesn’t solve the deeper issue.
🔗 linkblog: Zoom says its new AI tools aren’t stealing ownership of your content - The Verge'
Zoom’s responses to this are meaningless, empty corporate speak. I’m not concerned about owning my content, I’m concerned about others using it while affirming my ownership. And yes, I “consent” to it in the sense that I use Zoom, but that is meaningless consent and Zoom knows it. What a garbage response.
🔗 linkblog: Cowboy releases cheeky app to keep VanMoof e-bike riders on the road - The Verge'
We read Cory Doctorow’s “Unauthorized Bread” in my class on computer fundamentals, and I try to share actual examples of how tech companies going bankrupt can create actual problems like in the story. Bookmarking this for next time I teach.
🔗 linkblog: Something odd is happening when you try and search Twitter for Threads links - The Verge'
It appears that Musk’s “free speech absolutism” continues to be selective and self-serving.
🔗 linkblog: Gizmodo’s staff isn’t happy about G/O Media’s AI-generated content - The Verge'
I read that “chronological order of Star Wars” media piece mentioned here in io9 and I was baffled by how poorly done it was (not realizing it was done by AI and wondering how an io9 writer could get things so wrong). Using AI to content farm is a terrible idea.
🔗 linkblog: The environmentally conscious Fairphone 4 is finally coming to the US - The Verge'
This is very exciting! I’m far too locked into Apple’s ecosystem to seriously consider this right now (even this post is being composed thanks to Siri Shortcuts), but I hope this does well, because I’d love to own a Fairphone one day.
🔗 linkblog: Reddit pressures mods to end the blackout as they find new ways to protest - The Verge'
Perhaps most interesting thing here is official comment from Reddit. It’s not quite “auto-reply with a poop emoji territory,” but it might actually be worse?
🔗 linkblog: Reddit starts removing moderators behind the latest protests - The Verge'
I’m glad this article points out how much unpaid work mods do to make Reddit a place people want to go. They arguably add more value to the platform than employees do, and this strikes me as a bad move.
🔗 linkblog: Here’s the note Reddit sent to moderators threatening them if they don’t reopen - The Verge'
Feels pretty sleazy to me.
🔗 linkblog: Reddit CEO Steve Huffman: Reddit ‘was never designed to support third-party apps’ - The Verge'
I get that any platform has to pay its bills, but Huffman keeps coming off as a real jerk.
🔗 linkblog: Thousands of Reddit communities remain dark as protest continues - The Verge'
Keep it up, subreddits!
🔗 linkblog: Reddit communities with millions of followers plan to extend the blackout indefinitely - The Verge'
What I appreciate about coverage of this from The Verge and Techdirt is the way that it draws attention to questions of digital labor.
🔗 linkblog: More than six thousand subreddits have gone dark to protest Reddit’s API changes - The Verge'
Good for them. Let’s hope it makes a difference.
🔗 linkblog: Apple’s Journal app needs to read the room - The Verge'
Good reflecton here. I’d been wondering if Apple’s Journal app would hold up to Day One, but I was never inclined to betray Day One, and I do NOT like the idea of algorithmic journaling.
🔗 linkblog: OpenAI says it could ‘cease operating’ in the EU if it can’t comply with future regulation - The Verge'
Last paragraph here is an important one: I’ve seen a lot of headlines about OpenAI calling for regulation, but it’s noteworthy that it’s hypothetical future regulation.